Loose skin after goal: my slow, uneven reality

Congrats on 86 lb and 16 months of holding it — that's the part nobody claps for. Your timeline matches mine oddly well; the "getting worse" phase was really just me finally looking instead of avoiding mirrors.

What helped me stop spiraling was monthly photos in the same bathroom light, same posture, plus a one-line note on how the skin felt (crepey vs. thick vs. soft) rather than how it looked. My arms changed way more than my belly — belly stayed loose, but the texture calmed down a lot.

Question: when you say softened, is it the volume that's changed or the texture? I genuinely can't tell if mine is still shifting or if I've just gotten used to it.

Running a cafe, I'm on my feet hauling trays all day, which I think counts as more strength work than I gie it credit for.

44, lost 81 lb, maintenance 21 months. I tracked this like a weirdo: same bathroom light, same time, monthly photos, plus arm circumference and a 0–5 redness/crepe score. My trendline was flat for ~9 months, then upper arms improved from 4 to 2.5; lower belly basically stayed a 4.

The only lifestyle variables that lined up were consistent sleep and 2x/week heavy-ish rows/pullovers — but n=1, could be time. Did you log anything beyond eyeballing? I’m curious whether your softened areas correlate with lifting or just the calendar.

Also: did your weight stay truly flat? Mine drifted up 3 lb and skin looked better just from less emptiness.

I’m 47, down 90 and maintaining just over two years. Lower belly is still soft when I sit or bend, but standing it changed way more between months 12 and 24 than in the first year.

Monthly photos in the same light, same time, not flexed, plus a tape measure at my navel, helped me see texture changes the scale and mirror moods missed. Are you judging yours standing relaxed or bent/sitting?

That distinction changed everything for me. For arms, building a bit of shoulder and triceps shape made the skin look less empty, even though it’s still there.

I’m 39, down 70, maintaining about 14 months. The odd part for me is my upper arms photograph better but feel looser in sleeveless shirts, especially when I’m dehydrated.

I keep a soft tape in the bathroom and measure monthly; the numbers barely move, but the texture changes with humidity and how much water I’m actually drinking. My local pharmacy has a cheap ceramide body cream I use after showers—not magic, just less crepey-looking.

Insurance won’t touch skin removal unless it’s medically coded, and mine excludes cosmetic, so I’m saving slowly. Does yours seem softer in summer, or is that just me?

late night gamer here too. weirdy the thing that changed my perception was a cheap satin pillowcase + not sleeping with my arm folded under my head.

i used to wake up with deep creases on my upper arms that i thought were permanent skin, but they faded by noon. do you notice one arm/side looking worse depending on your sleep position?

also soda swap: dropping carbonated stuff before bed cut morning puffiness for me, which made the arm skin less dramatic in photos. not a cure, just one of those dumb variables i can actually control.

dorm-dweller here, 34, down 60-ish. My loose-skin wildcard is inner thighs: they finally stopped trying to start a campfire on the walk to class, but now they do a polite round of applause in leggings.

The only perception shift came from a monthly side-profile pic against the same cinderblock wall under the same awful fluorescent light. Month 9 vs month 15: less purple, still crepey.

Was your softening a slow leak, or did it plateau for ages and then randomly change? Trying to figure out if mine is just on its own weird schedule.

I’m 46, down 68, maintaining about 11 months. The weirdest one for me is how much my lower-belly fold changes with posture and jeans rise—not really with time.

High-rise jeans make it look smoother; low-rise ones make me feel like a deflated balloon. I also noticed less irritation after I quit scrubbing that area in the shower and just used a gentle wash and patted dry.

Not a fix, just less angry skin. Did yours settle more with time, or did clothing fit make the biggest difference in how you saw it?